Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor: The Dark World

To prepare for the role, I read the (Thor) comics and noticed the character was 10 times bigger than me! Early on, when my name first came up for the part (in 2011), I read the blogs and comments of fans saying, ‘He’s too skinny. He’ll never be able to do it.’ That provided the motivation to get to the gym and prove them wrong.

In fact, preparing for the role was harder work than the shoot itself. The routine was nothing fancy. It was a lot of old-fashioned bodybuilding and force-fed nutrition. We used a lot of pulling exercises, and Kenneth (Branagh, the director of Thor) set up a wood-chopping area for me to prepare. Those were important to wield the hammer correctly. We would also add yoga work for flexibility. It’s a lot of work to keep it on. I have to do an hour or two of workout every day and eat ridiculous amounts of protein. I’m pretty much carb-free at the moment. It’s so boring!

You start to feel like people think that’s really you. I suppose it’s fair enough if that’s all they’ve seen of you.

You will need to eat every 2-3 hours and total close to 3,500 calories per day. If you are not able to get your meals, then forget the Thor physique all together.

Here’s what the 30-year-old Australian actor ate to become Thor!

MEAL

Scrambled egg whites (8-10)

Large bowl of oatmeal with skimmed milk and artificial sweetener to taste.

1 sliced peach

1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt

Half wholewheat bagel with 1 tbsp light cream cheese

Supplements: 1 scoop (2oz) protein powder, 5gm creatine, animal pack multi-vitamin, 2 scoops NO-Xplode, 2 Braintech Plus pills, ALA 200mg. (This morning supplement was taken immediately after waking up. They trigger the body’s testosterone levels, growth hormones and muscles into an anabolic state that promotes muscle growth.)

MEAL 2

Peanut butter and banana sandwich

1 cup strawberries

1 cup low-fat yogurt

1 cup 1 per cent milk

Supplements: 1 scoop (2oz) protein powder, ALA 200mg.

MEAL 3

Spinach and veggie salad, fat-free dressing, and 8-12 ounces of diced chicken.

Supplements: ALA 200mg.

MEAL 4

Two cheese-chicken sandwiches.

Supplements: ALA 200mg.

MEAL 5 (pre-workout)

Supplements:

2 Braintech Plus pills (pre-workout performance enhancer), 5gm of creatine.

MEAL 6 (POST-WORKOUT)

1 scoop casein protein powder

1 cup orange juice

1 medium banana

1 cup 1 per cent milk

Half tbsp honey

Supplements: 5 grams of creatine, 1 scoop casein protein powder (casein is a slow-digesting protein that feeds the muscles through the night).

MEAL 7

Steak (8-12 ounces)

Baked potato

Spinach salad with fresh veggies and fat-free dressing

Supplements: ALA 200mg.

MEAL 8 (BEFORE BED)

1 scoop of casein protein.

Thor: The Dark World releases on November 8